Learn how a local couple makes linguini and clams

Naples resident Denise McNulty grew up around food. Here she shares her culinary background, what it's like to share the kitchen and a recipe for her favorite dish:

Naples Daily News: Where did you learn to cook? Did you ever take any cooking lessons?

Denise McNulty: I never took cooking lessons. My Mother is Italian and an incredible cook (her Family's origin is Sicily). I've been cooking at home for the past fifteen years. Before I met Peter, I used to eat out quite a bit in Center City Philadelphia in some of the best family owned Italian restaurants. I learned from those Chefs and also a little from watching Chefs in Italy when we visited Rome and Florence in 2000. Peter is Greek and was in the food service business for many years so he helped me learn about the products, herbs, and spices.

NDN: How did you and Peter figure out a rhythm to be in the kitchen together? Do you ever get into each other's way?

DM: We're a good Team in the kitchen – the Italian and the Greek. We have the music going, candles lit, wine poured, and away we go! The best cooking is when we're not working during the day. Weekends we enjoy cooking more than anything. It's a lot of fun. We each have our chef-work which goes in a nice rhythm. Peter does all the prep work (including food shopping), and I put it all together.

NDN: Is there anyone you would like to make a dish for?

DM: I would love to cook for Giorgio, formerly the Owner of the Monte Carlo Living Room in Philadelphia. Peter and I adore Giorgio.

1 Cover the bottom of a large skillet with a thin layer of extra light olive oil — place clams (in the shells) in the oil of the skillet pan. Cover the skillet pan tightly with tin foil to help steam the clams at a high fire until all clams have opened. If there is a clam that does not open after steaming, discard it.

2 Remove clams from their shells and strain the lam juice and save the juice.

3 Wash and then pick the parsley and put aside (use parsley trees only — no stems).

4 Put ¹/ ³ cup of extra light olive oil in the large skillet pan — add crushed/minced garlic from 10-15 gloves (you can never have enough garlic) to the olive oil in the pan. Simmer the garlic until cooked (do not brown or overcook — should be white to golden yellow).

5 Add clam juice to the skillet pan as well as ¹/ ³ of the parsley, sprinkle crushed red pepper, a dash of black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon of basil leaves/flakes.

6 Make a tent with tin foil — loosely cover the skillet pan and simmer at a low fire for 10 minutes.

7 Rinse the minced clams from the cans and discard the juice from the cans. Add only the minced clams to the skillet pan. Then add the fresh whole clams. Tent the tin foil again — loosely cover the skillet pan and simmer everything together on a low fire for 20 minutes. Low the fire if it boils too high — just simmer.

8 During the last 10 minutes of the 20-minute simmer of the juice, begin boiling the pasta — cook al dente — strain the pasta and rinse. You want to time the pasta so the pasta and juice will be finished cooking at the same time.

9 Toss the pasta in the skillet pan so all of the juice and clams in the pan are blended with the pasta.

10 Now add the remaining parsley to the pasta in the skillet and toss again. Make a tent with the tin foil and loosely cover the skillet pan. To get everything hot and ready to serve, heat the pasta at a medium fire tossing so the pasta does not burn or stick to the frying pan.